| New King James Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, | 1Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: |
| 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. | 2“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. |
| 3Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. | 3So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. |
| 4For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. | 4They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. |
| 5But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. | 5All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. |
| 6They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, | 6They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, |
| 7greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ | 7the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed. |
| 8But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. | 8But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. |
| 9Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. | 9And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. |
| 10And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. | 10Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ. |
| 11But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. | 11The greatest among you shall be your servant. |
| 12And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. | 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. |
| 13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. | 13Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter. |
| 14Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. | 14 |
| 15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. | 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are. |
| 16“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ | 16Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ |
| 17Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? | 17You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred? |
| 18And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ | 18And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ |
| 19Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? | 19You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred? |
| 20Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. | 20So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. |
| 21He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. | 21And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it. |
| 22And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. | 22And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it. |
| 23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. | 23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. |
| 24Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! | 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. |
| 25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. | 25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. |
| 26Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. | 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. |
| 27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. | 27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. |
| 28Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. | 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. |
| 29“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, | 29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous. |
| 30and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ | 30And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ |
| 31“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. | 31So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets. |
| 32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. | 32Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. |
| 33Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? | 33You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell? |
| 34Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, | 34Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town. |
| 35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. | 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. |
| 36Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. | 36Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation. |
| 37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! | 37O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! |
| 38See! Your house is left to you desolate; | 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. |
| 39for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ ” | 39For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’ ” |
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